Clarion Ledger endorses Mary Hawkins Butler for State Auditor.

This is one of the most difficult endorsements we have made. In the Republican nomination for state auditor, neither candidate is someone we would select for this office.

Incumbent Stacey Pickering is currently dogged with too many questions about no-bid contracts using state funds and the possibility of illegal campaign expenditures, both of which are the target of an FBI investigation.

Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler, however, is clearly only in this race because she disagrees with Pickering’s findings when he audited the Madison County Board of Supervisors and their contracts with county engineer Rudy Warnock. Butler has even said she would immediately launch an investigation into Madison County if elected, which is tantamount to her admitting she will use her state office for what everyone knows has become a personal vendetta.

Pickering’s record is less than stellar. Our own investigation into no-bid contracts…